Georgia Trend Daily – Oct. 8, 2026

Oct. 8, 2026 GlobalAtlanta.com

Trevor Williams reports international investment capital committed to Georgia doubled during the latest fiscal year, underscoring the key role foreign capital continues to play in the state’s growth story. After a slower fiscal 2025, the global segment surged to $7.8 billion as companies committed to create 9,350 jobs across the state in the year ended June 2026.

Oct. 8, 2026 Georgia Trend – Exclusive!

Ben Young writes, it was 100 years ago this month that the High Museum opened in Atlanta. It has since guided the city to become the cultural capital of the South.

Oct. 8, 2026 Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Amy Wenk reports, billions of copper-top batteries are already assembled in Georgia. But now the ingenuity that powers those cells will flow from an innovation center near Georgia Tech.

Oct. 8, 2026 WABE

Marlon Hyde reports, Delta Air Lines, alongside a coalition of Georgia agriculture and business leaders, wants to boost the state’s timber industry by turning unused wood into jet fuel. Tim Lowrimore is the President and CEO of the Georgia Forestry Association.

Oct. 8, 2026 Savannah Morning News

Evan Lasseter reports that one of Savannah’s major infrastructure projects received a key boost in funding last week. The City of Savannah was awarded an $11 million grant for improvements to DeRenne Avenue, according to a press release from U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock’s office.

Oct. 8, 2026 Marietta Daily Journal

Isabelle Manders reports, as Cobb County’s smallest city, Austell would receive the smallest portion of the proposed 2028 Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax — just under 1%, or about $10.2 million over six years — if voters approve the countywide tax renewal Nov. 3. The city’s proposed six-year spending plan puts the money toward roads, public safety, water and sewer improvements, Legion Park courts and upgrades to the historic Threadmill Complex.

Oct. 8, 2026 Gainesville Times

Ben Anderson reports, Wellroot Family Services, a Georgia nonprofit that provides foster care, counseling and housing assistance for children and families, has received a $300,000 grant to help Hall County families facing sudden financial emergencies. The Melvin Douglas and Victoria Kay Ivester Foundation awarded the grant to establish the Ivester Foundation Stabilization Fund, which will provide emergency financial assistance to children, young adults and families receiving Wellroot services in Hall County.

Oct. 8, 2026 Valdosta Daily Times

Staff reports, the Veteran Loan Fund (VLF) announced the graduation of the first cohort of its Veteran and MilSpouse Business Accelerator (VLF Accelerator), marking a significant milestone in its mission to expand access to capital and business coaching for veteran and military spouse entrepreneurs. The VLF Accelerator, a collaborative effort of a national group of community development financial institutions and specialized technical assistance partners, was made possible by generous support of the Truist Foundation.

Oct. 8, 2026 Walton Tribune

Jim Thompson reports, the 1-million square-foot warehouse in Social Circle purchased earlier this year by the federal government for planned conversion into an immigrant detention facility that could have housed as many as 10,000 people awaiting deportation to their home countries is now up for sale through the private market.

Oct. 8, 2026 Marietta Daily Journal

Lucinda Warnke reports, a pair of Cobb County residents will face off in November for an open seat on Georgia’s Public Service Commission. Democrat Sheila Edwards will face Republican Josh Tolbert for the PSC’s District 5 seat, which was left without an incumbent when former District 5 Commissioner Tricia Pridemore declined to run for reelection to run for Congress in Georgia’s 11th District.

Oct. 8, 2026 Georgia Recorder

Ross Williams reports, the dogs and cats in your life don’t get a vote on Nov. 3, so they’re counting on you to get it right. That’s the message from the Georgia Pet Coalition, a nonpartisan group of Georgia humans who advocate state and local governments on behalf of the state’s companion animals.

Oct. 8, 2026 State Affairs

Beau Evans reports, nobody could have predicted a decade ago that Georgia’s next political kingmaker might be a 29-year-old Democratic newcomer who lost his first election. In late summer of 2017, then-candidate Jon Ossoff was fresh off defeat in a special election for Congress.

Oct. 8, 2026 Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Greg Bluestein reports, for one hour Tuesday, Georgia voters got something they likely won’t see again before Election Day: Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms and Republican Rick Jackson standing side by side on a debate stage tackling the biggest divides of the campaign for governor.